Secrets Revealed
by Christina1997
Summary: When a strange young girl by the name of Keira shows up at NCIS Los Angeles headquarters, different sides of Hetty and Granger start to show. What secrets and dangers does she bring with her? And what part of the past do Keira, Hetty, Granger, and her best friend Dimitri share? How will Keira's time in L.A. affect and help the NCIS L.A. team?
1. Keira's Arrival

**Hey guys :) So this fanfic idea came to me when watching an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles on tv in which Callen and the team meet Grace Stevens which Callen figures out has a past very similar to his. Callen pushes Hetty to confirm the suspicion he has that she has taken many orphans and made them agents. I figured it would make a pretty awesome story if I went more into that and expanded on the fact that Hetty took in orphans and made them agents, and then add Granger to it and create his role in all of this. And what better way to do it than introduce someone to the team who is incredibly close to Granger and Hetty and brings out parental sides in Granger and Hetty that no one has ever really seen ;) Hope you guys like it!**

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><p>- Sam's daughter who is unnamed in NCIS: Los Angeles is named Joan in this fanfic.<p>

- Keira (pronounced Kai-ra) is a character I came up with after watching the episode in which Callen meets Grace Stevens and finds out that Hetty 'rescued' a lot of orphans and made them agents. I figured I had to put in some Russian to sort of make her definitely connected to Hetty. Any Russian used is happily coming from Google Translate! I will make sure to put in when it's Russian in brackets so you know it isn't a misspelling of something else, but I will always have the translation somewhere in there if it is right after the Russian part or if it is explained in some way later on.

- Dima (short for Dimitri) is another character I came up with.

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><p>Another Monday morning at NCIS headquarters in Los Angeles. Deeks had come in first, a surprise to everyone who was already there. Kensi or Sam was usually first to walk in but Deeks? Nell and Eric were already in OSP and Hetty was nowhere to be seen. Her desk looked untouched this morning as if she hadn't even come in yet, another strange thing. It could be that she was training in the gym, but everyone knew better than to bother her if she was. Back at the working space, Deeks sat completely relaxed and already sorting through the paperwork that lay on it.<p>

"Good morning partner" Deeks chimed sitting at his desk and seeing Kensi come in with a grumpy face. Kensi looked at him with a face that said she could just about kick him in the nuts.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" She asked. Deeks just sat there happily smiling at his partner's annoyance. How could he be annoyed on such a beautiful morning?

"Better question, what's got you so annoyed my Kensalina?" Kensi would never ever admit that she actually liked to hear him call her a billion nicknames. It made her feel special when it came to knowing how many women Deeks slept with. It made her feel even better knowing that she was Deeks' partner and that it meant that she had a special place in his heart. They had been working together for a while now and she had started to feel something for him, but of course she would never reveal that either.

"Deeks, just—" Kensi started but stopped short and just sighed.

"Good morning, Callen not here yet?" Sam said walking to his desk and taking a seat.

"I haven't seen him" Kensi replied.

"Me neither" Deeks said. "And I was here before Kensalina, who by the way is in a pretty bad mood."

"Am not" Kensi retaliated.

"Are too" Deeks rushed to say. Kensi scowled and put her stuff on her desk, walking to get herself some coffee. Just then, Callen walked into the working space and took in the scene before him. Kensi who looked tired and grumpy, Deeks who looked as hyper as ever and Sam, who was focused on the papers on his desk. To his surprise, Hetty wasn't in her usual seat at her desk watching them, in fact, he didn't see her at all.

"Morning" Callen said finally taking a seat at his desk, being greeted by all the papers on it.

"Hey G, I have a favor to ask" Sam said immediately, not wasting any time at all getting to the point. "Could you watch Joan this weekend?"

"Sam, really? Kids? Me, alone, and your kid?" Callen repeated. Not to get it wrong, he liked Sam's kids and they liked him, but an entire weekend? Keeping them busy, feeding them, making sure they bathed, and all alone?

"Come on G, she loves her _Uncle Callen_. The thought of staying with Uncle Callen for the weekend excites her" Sam said, chuckling.

"Wait, you already told her?" Callen asked exasperated. How could he get out of it now?

"Yep" Sam said still chuckling.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of asking?" Deeks said suddenly.

"Thank you Deeks!" Callen exclaimed. "You can't tell her it's gonna happen without asking me first! What if I have plans?"

"You, plans? Weekend plans?" Sam said looking at Callen like the concept was completely unimaginable.

"Hey, I'm not that unsocial!" Callen said slightly insulted. Sam just sat quietly laughing at Callen's response.

"So it's a yes" Sam said more a statement than a question.

"Yeah sure" Callen said knowing that he was agreeing to something that was harder than it seemed. Sam's kids were smart, very smart.

"Agents" Hetty announced loudly standing next to Callen. No one had seen her come over, not even come in for that matter. Callen and Sam jumped at the sound of her voice, Deeks silently cursed the scare and Kensi dropped her coffee she was bringing to the desk.

"Sorry if I startled you" Hetty said, though they could all hear in her voice that she was getting a kick out of it. Kensi in the process getting some napkins and starting to clean up the mess that was on the floor cause of the coffee she spilled. "Today will be an interesting day" she said calmly.

"Interesting why?" Kensi said looking up from the floor, causing Callen, Sam, and Deeks to look at her strangely. No one had noticed her wiping of the floor until now.

"Kens…what—" Sam started asking but Kensi cut him off.

"Don't ask, no one ask." Kensi said glaring mostly at Deeks. Hetty then cleared her throat to get everyone's attention back at her.

"Director Owen Granger will be around today and maybe for a while after today" Hetty said sighing. It wasn't as if she enjoyed seeing Granger either. He could be such a pain, always trying to take down her team, or so it seemed to everyone.

"Why?" Callen asked with the obvious annoyance that he knew the rest of his team would also have portrayed. He wasn't going to hide his annoyance at the fact that Granger was going to prance around NCIS and demand things because he knew he was on top.

"That is not for you to know" Hetty stated, her voice hinting to her own annoyance. "I simply told you so that you know that our behavior today and our actions should show our capability. We cannot and I repeat _cannot_ afford to do anything wrong today. He will not be monitoring our every move, but he _will_ check in every once in a while. I do not know for how long exactly he will be here, but while he is here you are to be on your best behavior."

"Did you hear that Deeks?" Sam said pointedly, "Best behavior". Deeks made a face and nodded at Hetty to make sure that she knew he would be on his best behavior.

"Agents" Hetty said, and then walked away from her agents and towards her desk where she sat and made herself a cup of tea. Her forewarning of Granger made them all curious, and her way about telling them made them even more curious. The one thing that caught all of them was that she was unsure how long Granger would be in L.A. with them. She always knew.

Three hours had passed and it was as if nothing seemed to be happening, anywhere. There was no case to handle, no one to catch, no bombs to recover, no murder to solve, nothing. Even though it did give them a calm day in between all their hard days, it forced them to do all the paperwork that had been put on each of their desks. There was no excuse to not do it. They hadn't realized that Granger had walked into NCIS until they heard Hetty's hiss something at Granger who was standing at her desk. She looked angry and they knew that it meant something, somewhere had gone wrong or at least not to her liking. Knowing it was not their business and that they probably wouldn't hear about it, they ignored it and kept working. Another hour had gone by and to their surprise, Hetty got up from her desk and stormed off with Granger hot on her heels. They seemed to be arguing, but knowing better they again ignored it. Something was going on and it bothered all of them.

"Have you guys realized that Granger is here, and absolutely nothing is happening? No case, nothing?" Kensi said breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the four agents.

"Did you guys see how angry Hetty just got at Granger?" Sam said. "I have never seen her get that angry at Granger, ever." They all nodded in agreement and in deep thought as to what it all may mean.

"I'm getting hungry, anybody up for going to get lunch?" Deeks asked. It was typical that in all this tension, he would still be thinking about his stomach. Kensi's stomach growled and Callen reached for his wallet to check how much money he had.

"I'm in" Kensi said already getting up. All the stress and tension had built up an appetite.

"Oh yeah" Callen said getting up and putting his wallet back into his pocket.

"You coming Sam?" Deeks asked getting his wallet and phone and stuffing them into his pockets. "I'll go up and check if Nell and Eric want anything" he said then jogged away, up the stairs and towards OSP.

"Why not" Sam said shrugging and getting his phone and wallet to go. Deeks came back down with a slip of paper, on it written what Nell and Eric wanted, and started with Kensi, Sam, and Callen towards the doors and parking lot. They all excited and had decided to go in the car Kensi and Deeks always used because it was the biggest and they could all fit in it. Why go separate if they could all just go together? They had started heading towards the car when a young girl sprinted through the group, bumping into Callen and almost falling. Callen's quick reflexes stopped the girl from tumbling to the ground as he grabbed her upper arms to stop her rapid descent.

"Sorry" she mumbled as she pulled herself out of Callen's grip and ran into NCIS Los Angeles headquarters. The team watched the girl's sprint, pulling open of the door, and disappearing inside. They wondered if they should go back in and check it out, but decided to let it go and go get lunch.

When they came back from having lunch and walked into headquarters with Nell's and Eric's food, there stood the young girl, talking to Hetty at her desk.

"I'm gonna go bring this up to Nell and Eric" Deeks said and made his way past the rest of his team and up the stairs. At his passing of Hetty's desk, the girl turned around as if startled and stared at Deeks for a while. Deeks pretended that he couldn't feel her staring at him and just continued up to OSP. Callen, Sam and Kensi stopped and looked at the girl and Hetty for a while. Hetty wasn't angry, she actually looked somewhat relieved for some apparent reason. Hetty caught them looking and glared at them, causing the trio to walk to their desks and quietly sit down to continue their work. A while later Deeks came down the stairs and joined Kensi, Sam, and Callen. The four of them sat there quietly exchanging confused glances until Hetty stood at their working place observing them.

"Agents" Hetty said, once again getting their attention. All four of them sitting there looked up at her as if they had been truly focused in their work and she was disturbing them.

"This is Keira" she said as the young girl they had seen before walked up to Hetty and stopped to stand next to her. The girl, Keira, stood tall with her head held high. She didn't seem at all in any way intimidated by the person she stood next to.

"Keira will be here for a while, and I expect that you welcome her with open arms." The way Hetty said it, it almost sounded like a threat. Keira was a girl of average height who obviously had some muscle on her. She had brown, curly hair reaching her shoulders that had a tint of blond to it. She kept her hair in a loose pony tail and was dressed in some jean shorts, flip-flops, a dark blue tank top and a leather jacket. She looked out of place, to say the least. No matter if she was obviously connected to Hetty or not, they could not have seen coming what happened next. Director Owen Granger just walked into headquarters and a huge smile spread across his face at the sight of the young girl.

"Owen" she squealed tackling him.

"Go easy on him Keira, he's gotten old." Hetty said, fake scolding the girl. Granger, as if to prove Hetty wrong, engaged in a struggle with the young girl. Before, it seemed like the girl didn't belong, but after seeing this, it was obvious that the girl did more than belong here, she mattered a great lot here. The girl bested Granger anyways and had him hooked under her arm until he twisted her and was standing behind her in a choking hold. Callen and Sam stood, confused as to if this was okay or if they should do something to stop it, but Hetty put her hand up to stop them from getting anywhere. Keira squirmed for a second before she lightly placed a kiss on his arm and twisted his arm around her neck in such a way that she managed to shove him a good meter off of her. Both Granger and the girl laughed softly while he held a hand to his chest where she had shoved him, and she rubbed her neck.

"You're still good, I can't deny you that" Granger said as he walked to stand beside Hetty and the girl. Hetty scowled at him and Granger looked confused.

"Henrietta, a friendly struggle was all it was" the girl, Keira, said still breathing somewhat heavily next to Granger who looked like he was a bit out of shape.

"You alright there?" Granger asked Keira giving her a pat on the back. Keira only nodded and put her hand on Granger's shoulder to keep her balance. Something wasn't right with her, and it was obvious that she was _too_ tired from just a "friendly struggle".

"I take it Henrietta introduced Keira to the team" Granger stated, getting a nod out of all four agents, Sam and Callen still standing.

"Did you introduce yourselves to her?" Granger asked, an eyebrow raised. They all shook their heads as Sam stepped forward and offered his hand to her. To his surprise, she moved away from it and stepped slightly behind Granger with her hand still on his shoulder.

Granger looked to his side and quietly but reassuringly said, "It's okay".

"Agent Sam Hanna, former Navy Seal" Sam said as he again reached his hand out to her, this time getting his hand shaken by Keira, though she still stood slightly behind Granger. As he took his seat at his desk, Callen walked over to her and offered his hand.

"Agent G Callen, the G isn't short for anything" Callen said as Keira shook his hand. The moment she shook his hand, she took it back as if he had burned her. She hadn't done it with Sam and Hetty and Granger looked just as confused as he was, but he let it go and went to sit. Kensi was next up and she looked a bit unsure about shaking Keira's hand.

"Special Agent Kensi Blye" Kensi said. The girl looked at her as if reading her mind.

"You don't have to shake my hand" she said quietly. Kensi tilted her head, shocked at how well the girl could read and just smiled and nodded at her. Keira smiled back.

"Last but not least, of course, LAPD liaison Marty Deeks" Deeks said reaching to shake the girls hand, but Keira only retreated further behind Granger.

"No worries, he's human, the hair is just so he can match his dog" Sam said chuckling. Callen laughed and Kensi, Hetty, and Granger joined in as Deeks stood embarrassed. Deeks then took his hand back, smiled and laughed some, before turning around to go back to his desk.

"Deeks?" The girl said suddenly, speaking to one of the agents for the first time and getting Deeks to turn around. He stood very still as she walked from behind Granger towards him and stood before him. Deeks looked as if he was afraid that if he moved, she would scare off. Out of nowhere, she went on the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Deeks didn't move for a few seconds before he carefully wrapped his arms around the girl. Her hug seemed to warm him and make him happy. He smiled as if all his worries had been taken from him, he smiled a smile that no one could miss.

"I feel that you are brave, loyal, and protective of your friends and I respect that greatly. Do not let them get to you, moy drug (Russian)" Keira whispered to Deeks so that no one else but him could hear it. She let go of him and went to, once again, stand by Granger and Hetty. Deeks walked back to his desk with a smile on his face and scribbled something down on a piece of paper before looking back at Keira. The team including Hetty and Granger wondered what she had told him but figured that if she didn't say it out loud, it wasn't meant for the rest of them to hear.

"Dima" Keira exclaimed abruptly as she ran towards the doors of headquarters.

"What's a "Dima"?" Callen asked but soon enough figured out it was a person when he heard a male voice call Keira's name. Before the agents knew it, a guy no older than 25 came into view with Keira on his back. When the guy stood before Hetty and Granger, Keira got off his back, gave him a peck on the cheek and stood next to him smiling as he put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him.

"Dimitri, Henrietta and I need to speak to you" Granger said, not looking happy at this newcomer's arrival, "alone". The guy called Dimitri nodded, let go of Keira giving her a kiss on the forehead, and walked off to Hetty's desk with Granger. Keira being left behind walked towards the couch in our working place and plopped herself onto it. She sighed, rolled onto her side, got comfortable, and looked like she was about to fall asleep. While Kensi, Sam, and Callen tried to continue their work, Deeks searched up what the words Keira had said to him meant. When putting the words into a translator, Deeks was surprised to find that "moy drug" was Russian and meant "my friend". He looked at the girl laying on the couch and smiled to himself as he remembered what she said. His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of his phone going off for a text message. Checking his phone he was surprised to find that the text message came from Hetty, and it read:

_"Keira is a special girl who feels her way around people. She feels you a good person, and you should not take that lightly. It is amazing for Keira to feel that from you so strongly. Be proud Agent Deeks, and cherish whatever she said to you for those are her words to you that were only meant for your ears to pick up on."_


	2. The Informant Once Loved

**Hey guys! So this is chapter 2 and I am real sorry it took me this long to write it. I wanted to make it about the same length as the first chapter and ended up making it longer cause I wanted it to stop at a certain point ;) I hope it meets your expectations and any ideas or comments are very much welcome :D A big thank you to those who follow and favorite my story! I really hope by the way that the Russian doesn't bother anyone. There is a lot more of it in this chapter. And yeah, excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes and I hope you like it!**

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><p>They were all still working hard when Keira woke with a start that almost sent her off the couch. They all turned to see her eyes searching wildly for something.<p>

"Keira?" Sam asked almost unsure. The unspoken question of if she was okay was clearly heard. As if Keira didn't hear him, she stood up and her eyes glazed over.

"Keira" Deeks said firmly, getting up to put a hand on her arm. He hoped that maybe he could get her out of her dream-like state, but he was afraid that his touch may scare her or cause a violent reaction of some sort.

"Don't touch her" Sam said realizing Deeks' intentions.

"She's in a memory" Callen observed quietly. He had seen this before when he was working for the CIA. People would come back from missions and remember things bit by bit. When they remembered something their eyes would glaze over and you would just have to leave them until it ended. Some would come out of the memories confused, while others would come out shocked or even exhausted. Kensi still sat at her desk, waiting to see what would happen. Not even Jack had had moments like this, and even though with Jack it was worse, whatever Keira was remembering seemed to be pretty bad.

Keira came out of it with a gasp. Instead of looking confused or sad, she looked angry. Deeks backed up to give her space, noticing that she was fuming. The four of them knew they had to do something when they saw her eyes land on Deeks' gun that lay on his desk. It didn't have any bullets in it, but it didn't need to for it to be dangerous.

"Shoot" Deeks cursed as he reached to get the gun but noticed that Keira had already taken it. She held the gun in hand and didn't even bother to see if it was loaded. Whatever her intentions were, the gun obviously did not need to be loaded. She strode forward with determined steps before she was blocked by Callen and Sam.

"Move" Keira said calmly. The calmness of her voice was almost as scary as Hetty when she yelled and that said a lot.

"Now" Keira then said when she saw that they did not plan on getting out of the way. Keira moved so quickly that Sam and Callen couldn't have reacted if they wanted to. Kensi stood in shock and watched as Keira disabled the two men quickly and quietly. Sam stood leaning onto his desk for support while Callen stood doubled over. Nor Kensi, nor Deeks could even tell what she did, but whatever it was they knew that it damn well hurt.

Keira walked past them with the gun in hand, and even though the team had no idea where Granger, Hetty and Dimitri were, Keira surely did. The next thing they knew, she was out of their sights.

"DIMA! VY TRUS (Russian)!" was all they could hear being yelled by Keira.

"You speak Russian, what was that?" Sam said to Callen, teeth still clenched in pain.

"I think she just called him a coward" Callen answered with a chuckle, slowly taking a seat at his desk while still holding his side.

"What just happened?" Kensi asked, eyes still glued to the spot where Keira had gotten past Callen and Sam.

"I don't know, but she's fast" Sam replied, also taking a seat at his desk. Deeks stood for a while longer before he let himself fall back onto the couch.

"Who the hell is she? She's like a mini Hetty! Like a freakin' ninja!" Deeks said more to himself than the team. Callen had to let out a laugh at the fact that Deeks had compared Keira to Hetty, but he couldn't say that Deeks was wrong. Keira was like Hetty, obviously in more ways than one: she was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, was more of a strong silent type than a talkative bubbly type, spoke Russian, and her past was a mystery that they most probably would never get to solve.

In the gym with Hetty, Granger, Keira, and Dimitri ….

Keira had walked in angry and the moment she did, Dimitri knew that she had remembered. He never meant to hurt her, or anyone that she cared about for that matter. He would never. She had been sent on a mission and he hadn't known where she was going or why. Dimitri knew very well that some things were just confidential, but she was like his little sister and not knowing meant that he couldn't protect her. He had fought with Granger and Henrietta, but they wouldn't tell him anything. When he had heard from people around that she had gotten hurt, he had to do something. He thought he was protecting her and didn't know what else to do.

"Keira, I—, Keira _pozhaluysta_ (Russian for: please)" Dimitri stammered, knowing that giving her an explanation was no longer an option. She was beyond angry and he couldn't get through to her anymore, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

"It was you, moy sobstvennyy brat (Russian for: my own brother)" Keira said interrupting him. She was way past upset. Keira knew that if she stayed around Dimitri she would say things that she would later regret. For her own sake and Dimitri's, she did what she knew was right and walked away, leaving the gun behind on one of the benches.

"Dorogaya (Russian for sweetheart) –", Dimitri yelled as he marched after Keira, "SESTRA (Russian for: sister)!" Keira stopped at the entrance of the gym at that word and turned back towards him.

"How could you, _brat_ (Russian for: brother)!" She spat at him with venom in her voice. Keira then turned and continued walking, incoherently mumbling on in Russian.

"Mne ochen' zhal', sestra (Russian for: I'm sorry, sister), I'm sorry" Dimitri said, his voice cracking and him still walking after her. Keira only walked faster, hoping that he would stop so she could have some time to think about what she had just remembered and realized.

By the time Dimitri reached out to Keira and stopped her in her path, they were standing by the stairs that led to up to OSP and everyone was watching them.

"Dima…why?" Keira asked, tears streaming down her face.

"You knew, you knew that I loved him, you could see it" she whispered for only Dimitri to hear.

"You came out of that cabin black and blue, what was I supposed to think" Dimitri hissed back, causing confusion to everyone else who had not heard her.

"He didn't hurt me! You should have looked closely and more carefully because it wasn't him!" Keira said almost yelling, "It wasn't him…." On the mission, Keira was undercover and fell in love with the informant she was sent to. When Dimitri found out where she was, he went after her to watch her and protect her the best he could without getting involved in any way. Dimitri meant to stay hidden in such a way that not even she knew he was there, but when Keira came out of the cabin she was staying in with the informant bruised up, he couldn't take staying in the shadows any longer.

What Dimitri did not know until after he shot the informant was that there was someone else in the cabin who had his own issues with the man who was the informant. This other man was the one who had hurt Keira, but not knowing better and not seeing the other man, Dimitri shot and killed the informant. Keira could not remember clearly who she saw come out of the shadows and pull the trigger until this day. She had sensed a person following them but she let it go because she knew her cover was solid. Keira would forgive Dimitri, but not today, not tomorrow, and probably not for the next few months.

"I know that" Dimitri whispered knowing that knowing now didn't matter.

"It's too late now isn't it? He's dead" Keira said with a coldness to her voice that would have sent Hetty running. Director Granger, knowing that then would be as good a time as any to step in, walked up to Keira and stood next to her.

"Get out and cool off" he said to her with his hand on her shoulder. His voice held no anger or annoyance, but only concern. When Keira turned to walk out she stumbled, but before she could fall face first Granger grabbed her by the elbow. He whispered something in her ear that no one else could hear and she nodded. Once she was out and everyone began to go back to their workstations Granger walked to stand right in front of Dimitri.

"You had it coming" was all he said before he walked away leaving Dimitri to stand alone in the middle of headquarters. Hetty had returned to her seat behind her desk and was pouring herself a probably much-needed cup of tea. The team of four, Kensi, Deeks, Sam, and Callen, stood together watching Dimitri while he seemed to contemplate would he should do now. Before they knew it, Nate, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, stood next to Dimitri and said something to Dimitri that they couldn't understand from where they stood. Dimitri nodded, Nate and himself walking away towards Nate's office.

Half an hour later…

"Thank god, it's almost time to get out of here" Deeks sighed, organizing all the papers on his desk. The tension that had stayed after the entire spectacle was still heavy and Hetty had not moved an inch since. Deeks almost had a heart attack when he looked up from his desk to find Director Granger standing in front of it.

"I believe this is yours" Granger said, handing Deeks the gun that Keira had taken from his desk earlier.

"Ah, yes, thank you, I um…was wondering where it went."

Kensi smiled and shook her head at Deeks' response. He couldn't sound more stupid if he tried. Wait! Take that back, he really could! Deeks took his gun from Granger slowly and looked as if he wanted to ask something but didn't have the guts to. Granger turned to walk away when Deeks finally mustered up the courage to say something.

"Is she okay? I mean Keira, you know?" Deeks asked unsure of his words. Callen, Sam, and Kensi all turned to Granger, expectant of his answer. They were all wondering how the mysterious girl was doing. She hadn't come back in since Granger had told her to cool off.

"G Callen, Keira will stay with you" Granger announced, completely ignoring Deeks.

"I—She—what?" Callen stammered. Sam didn't even try to hide his laughter as his large frame shook uncontrollably.

"What about Sam? He already has a kid!" Callen said, trying to reason with Granger.

"He _already has_ a kid" Granger said, only repeating Callen's words with emphasis.

"So?!" Callen asked, annoyed that all Granger did was repeat his words.

"I—Deeks?" Callen exclaimed, trying again but then taking it back when saying, "Oh wait never mind."

"Absolutely not" Granger said right after Callen suggested Deeks. Kensi couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey! What's that all about? Is it the hair? Because I swear to God, if it's the hair—" Deeks started to argue, but was cut short by Granger's glare.

"I don't think it's the hair Deeks" Kensi said stating the obvious and trying not to laugh.

"Kensi! Kensi is perfect! She is a woman, lives alone, doesn't really go out for fun" Callen stated, smiling as he thought about the fact that Kensi may be his way out. At the mention of not going out for fun, Kensi pouted at Callen and Deeks burst out laughing.

"Sorry Kensalina, but he's right" Deeks laughed as Kensi gave him a hard punch in the arm.

"Ow…ABUSE" Deeks yelled, "This is why Keira is not staying with Kensi" Deeks continued, his voice quieter, still laughing, and now rubbing his arm where Kensi punched him.

"Callen, you are the _leader_ of this team, you will take responsibility and I put Keira's well-being and life in your hands. If she comes into headquarters, _any_ of these days, showing any signs of discomfort, pain, or hunger for that matter because you _forgot_ to feed her, I put a bullet in you" Granger stated threateningly. He stared at Callen for another few seconds before he walked out of headquarters. Right when Granger was about to walk out of headquarters Keira came in. They stopped short of each other and Granger said something to Keira that they couldn't hear from where they were. Granger then stepped closer to her and pulled her head to him to plant a kiss on her temple, shocking Deeks, Kensi, Sam, and Callen who watched. He then walked out without another word, leaving Keira where she stood. It took a while, but then she finally moved forward and made her way towards the team. Deeks was packed and ready to go and so was Kensi, leaving Sam and Callen to figure out how to deal with Keira.

"See you guys tomorrow then, and I hope that when I do come in, Callen's head is still attached to his body" Deeks said smirking, causing a smile from Sam and making his way out of their work space and towards the double doors.

"You're such an ass Deeks" Kensi called after him, "See you guys tomorrow morning and good luck" She said sending Callen a sympathetic smile and then going after Deeks who had already started to bicker with her.

"G, I think you better go grocery shopping tonight" Sam said, smiling at Callen yet still very serious. He wasn't joking and Callen knew it.

"So I'm with you?" Keira said, startling both Sam and Callen. Neither had seen her walk into the work space.

"You're with me" Callen sighed, earning himself a cough from Sam. Callen looked up to see that Keira stood with her head down, looking as if someone had just taken everything from her.

"Not that I mind" Callen quickly said, trying to fix the damage he already knew he had inflicted. Keira didn't raise her head though and it got to Callen the way nothing else ever had. He then realized that Keira was a strong, independent, brave girl, but that she was also insightful and to some extent sensitive.

Callen started to pack up his things, realizing that he had a long night ahead of him and that if he wanted to get up tomorrow morning, he would have to leave now and get on with it. Sam also started packing up and they did so in silence while Keira just stood and stared at the ground. Once they both finished, they looked at each other unsure of how to proceed.

"You good to go?" Callen asked, standing at his desk with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Huh?" Keira asked looking up at him but still obviously in deep thought.

"I asked if you're ready to go" Callen said slowly. She looked confused at his words as if he was speaking a language that didn't make sense.

"Yeah, sorry" she said quickly, apologizing. Sam started to make his way out and Callen followed. He turned around every once in a while to make sure she was following. When they reached Sam's car and they started to get in, Keira stopped.

"Sam and I carpool" Callen said, answering her unasked question.

"Correction, I drive G places when his car is in the shop for some type of stupidity" Sam laughed, causing Callen to smile back and start an argument. They argued for a while before they saw that Keira still hadn't gotten in.

"Is there something wrong with the car?" Callen asked, confused. Keira had been standing in the same spot for the entire 10 minutes that Sam and him had been arguing. Call wondered what went on in her head, yet on the other hand he wasn't sure he really wanted to know. For a young girl, she obviously had some very dark corners in there.

"I'm a good driver if that's what you're worried about" Sam said, knowing that that most likely was not what was on Keira's mind. Keira bent down and ran her hand over the plate of the car before standing on Callen's side. After a few seconds Callen realized he had to get out for her to get into the back. He was not used to this and probably wouldn't be for a while. Keira climbed in the back and then sat behind Sam's chair. Once Callen got back in the car and they were driving, both him and Sam realized that this was going to be very awkward for the next few days.

Once they had picked up groceries, ensuring that Callen would not only have beer in his fridge, they drove towards Callen's house.

"So, Keira, how old are you?" Sam asked, trying to start a conversation. The silence was driving them both nuts but Callen had no idea what to talk about.

"Seventeen" she answered very simply and quietly. Sam and Callen looked at each other confused. How could she be seventeen and already an agent? Was that even legal? What she an agent at all? If she wasn't then Hetty wouldn't have had her in headquarters, right?

"And you're and agent?" Sam asked, wondering the same but going about it lightly.

"Yes." Well, she wasn't giving them much.

"Who do you work for?" Callen asked, getting into the conversation. This was starting to get interesting! Just as he thought they were getting somewhere, it was gone. She didn't answer and he was not going to push her, nor was Sam.

"That guy Dimitri, he called you his sister" Callen stated. It was not meant as a question, but he wondered what she would say about it.

"I am not his biological sister, and can we not talk about Dima please?" She asked. He could hear the desperation in her voice. She really did not want to discuss him and who could blame her. Based on the whole argument they had in the smack of headquarters, they weren't on good terms anymore. On the other hand, when he first walked into headquarters, they were happy.

"Just one question" Sam pushed, "hold is he?" Callen knew that Sam wouldn't push on who she worked for or what exactly she mostly did, but Dimitri was an interest for both of them.

"He's eighteen, and yes, he's an agent too" Keira answered. Sam and Callen looked at each for a brief moment and both knew that they wanted to look into this. Agents that young? There was no way that was legal. They both knew that Hetty and Granger had the power to bend the law the way that worked out for them, but to bend it this much? Keira should be finishing high school, yet, here she was, a seventeen year old agent. For the rest of the way to Callen's house, none of them uttered a single word.

Pulling up to Callen's house…

"See you tomorrow morning?" Callen asked, looking at Sam with a face that pleaded with him not to make them have to ask Deeks or Kensi.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow morning" Sam responded, looking in the mirror to see that Keira sat quietly in the back seat as if oblivious to the fact that they had stopped driving. Callen got out and pulled forward the chair to let Keira out but she didn't budge. Sam leaned back to brush his finger against her knee to get her attention. When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide. She shook her head lightly and then realized that Callen was waiting for her to get out.

"Good night" she mumbled and stepped out of the car. Callen closed the door behind her and knocked on the window of the car getting Sam to pop the trunk. He took out the bags of groceries and his working bag.

"Close the trunk?" He asked Keira, more a statement than a question. She closed it and gave it a light tap to let Sam know it closed. Sam beeped and drove off right after.

When Callen reached the door of his house he remembered that the house key was in his pocket, but with all the grocery bags he couldn't reach it. Callen thought long and hard about what he'd do, but then his lazier side won and he turned to Keira who looked up almost immediately.

"My keys are in my front pocket, the right one, can you get them and open the door?"

Keira looked at him shocked before she realized he wasn't kidding. She carefully walked forward and pointed at his pocket. He nodded to her and watched her as she cautiously felt the pocket and found his keys. She pulled them out and was about to give them to Callen when she realized he wouldn't be able to open to the door and he had asked her to do it.

"The key with the word MintCraft on it" Callen said, seeing that she was having trouble asking. As Keira went to put the key in the keyhole to unlock the door her hands shook and she couldn't quite place it. Callen watched patiently and wondered what had her shaking. It took about two drops of the keys for her to open the door. While he walked to the kitchen to set down the groceries he cursed the empty house and himself for asking her to get his keys out of his pocket.

"Otdykhat' (Russian for: relax)" he heard Keira whisper to herself.

"Chuvstvuyte sebya kak doma (Russian for: make yourself at home)" Callen said, hoping it would calm her, but instead it frightened her.

"I can show you the bathroom and you can take a shower" he offered, not knowing what else to say. But then, realization hit him.

"Do you have any other clothes?"

"Ni odin (Russian for: none)" Keira said quietly, "I didn't have the time to take anything."


	3. 43 Minutes

**Hey guys! So this is Chapter 3 and I am real excited to put it up. This one is longer because I knew exactly what I wanted the end to be like and to reach that end it took a lot more stuff in between than I thought it would! I put it up real quick cause I got a pretty good amount of positive action going when I put up the second chapter and even if it isn't much to others it was a lot to me :) made me real happy! So please review, comment, favorite, follow, whatever you wanna do, nothing is okay too! ;) I am open to criticism as long as it is constructive criticism so feel free to say anything you like. As always, excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes and I hope big time that you enjoy this chapter :D**

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><p>Morning came quicker than Callen would've hoped. He had a hard time falling asleep due to the fact that he knew there was someone else in his home. He was used to his solitude and the fact that there was a silence that wouldn't be disrupted unless he was the one to disrupt it. As his eyes focused he noticed that Keira was not in the room anymore. He had put a mattress down on the ground by his bed because he didn't want her to feel alone or unsafe. He was going to let her sleep on his bed, but somehow he ended up on his bed and she on the mattress because there he lay comfortable on his bed. He couldn't understand it in that moment but he didn't bother to question it.<p>

When he looked closely he also realized that she had folded the sheets she had slept with and had put the pillow back on his bed. Callen couldn't help but smile at the fact that she cleaned up after herself. He pulled himself off the bed and got himself to stand, and that's when it came to him. The smell of bacon, eggs and pancakes traveled through the hallway and into his room making him eager to get into the kitchen. Knowing himself all too well, he decided to shower first before he ate and got too lazy to shower after. Sam had an incredible skill when it came to knowing Callen's ways and he would send Callen right back the way he came if he didn't shower. Once he was showered and dressed he walked into the kitchen to find a big breakfast awaiting him.

"You made breakfast?" He asked, stating the obvious but having to hear her to say it so he was sure he wasn't imagining the good-looking heap of food that stood before him.

"Da (Russian for: yes)" She answered smiling shyly at him. She stood at the counter with what looked like a fruit smoothie of some sort. Now that Callen thought about it, he didn't even know he had a blender to begin with.

"Thanks" Callen said smiling genuinely. He wanted her to know he really did appreciate it.

"Where'd you find a blender?" Callen asked, curious as to how else she would have done it and how he could have possibly slept through the noise.

"Cupboard next to the fridge" Keira said, looking as if she was trying not to laugh. How could the man not know what was in his house? After all, it was his house. On the other hand, when she found it and went to use it she realized she better wash it because it seemed to be collecting dust. Maybe he really didn't know it was there.

"You already ate?" Callen asked, seeing how she sipped the smoothie and seemed to have no real interest in the food that was set on a plate.

"The plate is for you, the smoothie is all I need" Keira responded. Callen only nodded in response as he sat down and ate the breakfast she had prepared him. He looked to be enjoying it and she was happy that her cooking skills were sufficient. Keira couldn't handle heavy meals in the morning, her stomach just wouldn't take it and she hoped he wouldn't ask why or push her. She would not do what she didn't want to do, but she felt inclined to answer any questions he may have and do whatever he may ask because after all, she was staying in his house and he hadn't seemed too pleased about it the day before.

Once Callen finished eating, he realized that her hair was wet and that she looked to be wearing his sweatpants and a navy blue t-shirt of his. 'She must have taken a shower' he thought to himself, happy that she had already showered because Sam was only so patient. Callen chuckled at the way the sweats hung on her smaller frame and the t-shirt looked a bit like a dress.

"I'll get Sam to stop at a mall or something on the way to headquarters" Callen said, still chuckling. Keira self-consciously looked down at the sweatpants and t-shirt she had grabbed out of his closet. She hadn't known what else to take, his jeans would've looked even worse and to wear his swim shorts was just embarrassing.

When Sam arrived to pick up Callen and Keira it took everything he had in him not to laugh at the fact that Keira was wearing Callen's clothes. Keira walked out with a smoothie in a transparent plastic cup, her slippers on her feet, and trying her best not to trip over the pants. Sam had to admit, she looked adorable, almost as if she was Callen's little girl or something who wanted to wear his clothes today. _Almost._ Callen's face expression was one of joy and that was a rare event at that time of the morning. Callen walked out behind Keira and she waited for him to lock the door before walking after him to the car.

"Good morning Keira", Sam said as Keira got into the back seat looking pointedly at Callen before saying, "I hope this idiot here gave you his bed."

Callen then realized that he had forgotten to ask how that happened. How did he end up sleeping on his bed anyways and her on the mattress on the ground? Yes he had a couch but he couldn't well drag it to his room and she seemed to want to cause him as less trouble as possible.

"Yeah" Keira mumbled from the back seat while Callen got in and closed the door behind him. She seemed to be focused on something else, like she was looking for something. Sam had already driven away from Callen's away and was on his way to the closest shopping mall.

"Come on G, you already have her covering for you? Don't cover his ass Keira" Sam said chuckling, "The fact that he hasn't complained of being sore means he slept on the bed."

Sam quickly stopped chuckling when he noticed that she was frantically looking for something in the backseat. He looked to Callen who shrugged, not having a clue as to what she could be looking for.

"You lose something?" Callen asked turning around to face Keira whose eyes didn't meet his.

"Moye kol'tso (Russian)" Keira said, her voice shaking slightly. Sam's eyebrows drew together trying to figure out what that could possibly mean.

"Can someone say that in English please?" Sam said sarcastically, trying to make it obvious to both of them that he was still in the car and that he did not understand Russian.

"Her ring, she lost her ring" Callen said slowly, concentrated on seeing if he could spot it.

"Did you take it off when you showered?" Callen asked almost immediately, not seeing anything shiny.

"I—I—" she stammered, and then suddenly her eyes grew wide, "I didn't have it. I didn't have it when I went to shower!" Callen could see that she was ready to burst into tears and he was sure Sam could hear it in her voice.

"If it was in the bathroom or bedroom I would have seen it this morning when I got up and went to shower" he reassured her.

"Which means it's at headquarters and it'll be given to you when we get there" Sam said, trying to make Keira feel better. Callen and Sam both knew that if it wasn't there they were both screwed and Keira looked like she could fall apart at any time.

"Let's get you some clothes first" Sam suggested, pulling up to a mall. It wasn't huge but it was bound to have clothes for her.

"I don't have any money" Keira said so quietly they could barely hear her. Callen's heart broke at her words. Did she really expect to have to do this on her own? Did she really think they wouldn't help her as much they could while she was with them?

"That's okay, we'll happily pay for your clothes and some toiletries, right Sam?" Callen said, looking for some support in Sam.

"Of course we will G" Sam responded looking at Keira and giving her the kindest smile he could. He felt for the girl. They had no idea where she was coming from or _what_ she was coming from and there she sat, thinking that she was going to have to pay everything for herself? It made Sam wonder what type of life she was leading before and who exactly she was in her undercover job.

Keira only nodded and smiled at the two men before her. She was happy to have them taking care of her. They were two of the kindest men she had ever met, next to Owen of course. Owen helped her in so many that not even he had a clue as to how big an effect he had had on her life. He had helped her beyond belief and she would always be grateful to him.

Once they got out of the car and into the mall, none of them knew where to turn to. She didn't know where to shop and the guys had no clue what she needed. When Callen and Sam spotted a store with bras and female underwear, they both knew she would need to go in and neither knew how to go about it.

"Granger put you in charge of her when it comes to being outside of headquarters" Sam mumbled with an amused smile. Callen shook his head at the fact that his friend was backing out and letting him deal with the hard stuff.

"Vy, veroyatno, nuzhno poyti tuda snachala (Russian for: you should probably go in there first)" said Callen suddenly staring at the store to make sure she understood which one she meant. Callen had figured that saying it in Russian would seem less embarrassing for him and Sam wouldn't understand a word. Sam, on the other hand, laughed quietly anyways because he had figured out Callen's intentions when it came to him speaking Russian.

Keira let out a small giggle catching Callen's drift and said, "Vy khotite priyekhat' so mnoy (Russian for: you want to come in with me)?" Callen's face expression was all it took for her to continue giggling. Sam's eyebrows knit together thinking of all the responses she might have given Callen. Whatever she had asked him, Callen had obviously not seen it coming. In the meantime, while shaking his head at her witty response, Callen took $200 out of his wallet.

"I couldn't take that much" Keira said, her eyes going wide at the sight of all the money Callen had in hand to give her.

"You _will_ take this much" Callen responded giving Keira no room for discussion, "Those stores aren't cheap and I want you to get whatever you want and need." Saying that, Callen stuffed the money into one of her hands and pushed her hand towards one of the pockets in her sweatpants.

"Don't go waving it around" He said laughing as she looked at it all bunched up in her hand.

"We'll go get you stuff like body wash, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush, deodorant and razors or whatever" Sam said giving her a push towards the store. Keira had folded the money nicely and put it in one of her pockets.

"I come to you when I'm done? I don't know where you'll be" Keira asked, bringing up a good point. They hadn't really thought about it. An idea popped into Callen's mind and he figured he might as well. Before Sam could tell what Callen was doing, Callen gave Keira his phone.

"If you dial number two you get Sam. If you finish before we get back here you call us, understood?" Callen said slowly, wanting to make sure she didn't miss a word that came out of his mouth.

"No wandering around or trying to find us yourself, no talking to strangers, no entering another store without telling us first, no moving onto a different floor, and absolutely no boys" Callen continued, leaving Sam with a face of disbelief and Keira with one of amusement. To Keira it almost seemed like he cared. To be honest with herself, Keira would have liked that. Callen was a pretty nice guy and to have guys like him and Sam care about her would give her more brother figures in her life. She liked the two and she had become incredibly comfortable around them in a short amount of time. Their bickering made her laugh and their partnership was strong. Maybe one of these days Hetty would put her on a case with the team, who knew?

"Go on now" Sam said, again giving her a gentle push towards the store. He himself was not getting _any_ closer. Keira was going to have to walk in and out of there alone. As Keira started to make her way to the store she heard Sam and Callen getting into one of their very frequent, friendly arguments.

"If I am second on speed dial, who is first?" Sam asked casually, still watching Keira walk.

"It isn't any of your business" Callen retorted, looking at Sam incredulously.

"I'm your _partner_" Sam emphasized, and that was all Keira could hear before she walked into the store. The sound of their bickering made her smile, and once she walked full-on into the store she truly realized why Callen had given her $200.

10 Minutes later in the drug store in the mall(Sam and Callen)…

"Sam, what made you think that we would know what to buy in here?" Callen said, looking at the huge selection of shampoos and conditioners the drug store had. He couldn't believe that Sam had said that they would buy the toiletries.

"G, _relax_, it can't be _that_ hard" Sam said with a sigh. He knew this was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Holding the basket loosely (considering it was still empty) Callen and Sam walked over to the female hair products section.

"Okay, so…Pantene? They always have commercials for that stuff right? Good for the hair and roots and ends and whatever. Something about repairing" Callen mumbled, very much lost on what to choose for Keira.

"Right yeah" Sam mumbled back, looking at all the other options.

"What about Herbal Essences? Women like herbal stuff" Sam grumbled, noticing the separate section all for products from Herbal Essences. Callen couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.

"But look at all the colors and smells, how do we know what she likes?" Sam spoke, thinking of what type of girl Keira was. She didn't seem like the lavender or rose type.

"You think she'd mind if her hair smelled like _wild violet_ and _pomegranate_?" Callen asked, his voice dripping with confusion. What were all these darn smells? Couldn't they just choose a bottle by the color?

"What about _orchid_ and coconut milk?" Sam said, looking at a blue bottle. Sam chuckled at the thought.

"That sounds like a horrible combination" Callen laughed, picking up the bottle and looking closely at it.

"Why women gotta be so complicated" Sam then said, letting his eyes roam over the entire five shelves of Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners. Callen put the bottle back and stepped back to see all the other bottles.

"Just take the blue bottles, I like the color" Callen exclaimed suddenly.

"Which one's?"

"The one's that say something about Moroccan, she looks like that type of girl" Callen said talking two bright blue bottles off a shelf and putting them in the basket Sam had in hand. Sam only shrugged and then walked over to the deodorants.

"Rexona is supposed to be for active people" Sam said while he took one of each Rexona spray deodorant bottle there was. Callen looked at the rack next to them and grabbed a random, good-looking tooth brush.

"A tooth brush is a tooth brush" he said putting it into the basket.

And just like that, the Sam and Callen walked through the entire drugstore picking things here and there that they thought would be useful to Keira. They were basically done when they passed a tampons and pads section, stopping to back up and look at all the possibilities.

"Nahhh" they both said in unison, walking towards the cash registers to pay.

"Shouldn't she have called already?" Callen asked while waiting for the woman at the cash register to name the price they would have to pay. The woman had long gone given them both a strange look, but she kindly continued doing her job and typing up a bill for them.

"G, she is 17, she can take care of herself" Sam reminded him, enjoying Callen's knew attitude. Callen was experiencing what it was like to be a stand-alone father figure to a teenage girl, and Sam couldn't help but enjoy the sight of it. Once they had paid everything, the two men walked back to where they had left Keira.

"By the way, what was all that "no wandering around, no talking to strangers, and absolutely no boys" stuff you were spouting out earlier" Sam said chuckling, just wanting to push Callen's buttons.

"Sam…" Callen warned, but Sam only chuckled some more and sighed contently.

While they waited and waited, they started to get anxious. She hadn't come out and they hadn't seen her walking around in the store. Both knew that if she didn't come out soon they would feel the need to go in, but neither of them wanted to walk into a store like that. Another 20 minutes passed and they were about to start pacing when Sam's phone rang. Sam hurriedly picked up without even checking the caller ID.

"Keira, where are you?" He asked immediately, surprised to find that when the voice answered it wasn't Keira's but Director Owen Granger's. Sam shot up to stand and started to pace.

"You lost her?!" Director Granger yelled into the phone. Sam flinched and Callen looked at Sam wide-eyed and mouth open in shock. They both knew they were so screwed.

"We didn't lose her, sir. We'll be at headquarters in about 45 minutes, _give or take some_" Sam answered as calmly as he possibly could. He hung up right after, knowing that Callen and himself were going to get a lot of crap over it. Just as Sam was about to put his phone back in his pocket, it rang again. This time looking at the caller ID, he felt relieved when he saw that it read 'G Callen'.

"Keira" he sighed into the phone, Callen getting up to stand beside him. The moment Sam had seen the caller ID he had stopped pacing.

"I—um—I'm sitting next to the car" she breathed heavily into the phone. Sam went from relieved to worried when he realized that her breaths sounded labored.

"We're coming, just sit still" Sam replied, grabbing the bags they had and already walking briskly towards the exit of the mall.

"She's sitting by the car" Sam said to Callen while Callen walked quickly after him.

Reaching the car and seeing Keira sitting next to it, head back against the passenger door, eyes closed, knees pulled to the chest and hands hanging limply, phone in one hand, Callen and Sam broke out into a sprint. Keira had already changed into some clothes that she had bought, so she sat wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a baby blue polo shirt. Sam reached her first and stopped short to crouch down and take in her heavy breathing and slightly pale face. When Callen reached he took note of the fact that the three shopping bags laying next to her looked untouched. This hadn't been a robbery attempt or anything of the sort, something was wrong with her and she had dropped them.

"Keira, it's Sam" Sam said, putting the bags from the drug store down and placing his large hand gently on her cheek. He didn't want to frighten her with his touch. With his one hand he gently pulled Keira's head forward so it was no longer leaning back against the car door. Noticing that she wasn't responding, Callen crouched down next to Sam.

"Keira" Callen said firmly, speaking louder than Sam had. Still, she did not even twitch. Callen then took one of her hands in his two and started to lightly squeeze it. It seemed to rouse Keira so he continued to increase pressure slowly until her eyes fluttered open.

Callen had never been so happy to see a young girl open her eyes after being passed out. He could swear that his heart beat quickened at the sight of it. Once her eyes were open, Callen stopped squeezing her hand and just held it in his.

"Keira, focus on me" Sam said, his hand still on her cheek to make sure she kept her eyes on him. She took a while but her eyes focused and she realized her surroundings. Slowly, Keira stood up and slumped against the car. She was about to bend down for the bags but Callen let go of her hand and picked them up for her. He held them while her eyes refocused on Sam.

"You alright?" Callen asked, knowing it was a pretty stupid question but feeling the need to ask anyways.

"Just a bit tired" Keira answered slowly, closing her eyes.

"Stay with us Keira" Sam said, trying to give her a small shake to make sure she didn't pass out. The breathing and exhaustion looked like a worse version of her tiredness after her struggle with Owen when she first saw him. Sam thought about it for a while but then figured maybe they should just get her to headquarters and have Owen figure it out.

"Let's get these in the trunk and get to headquarters" Callen said grabbing the drug store bags, taking keys from Sam and popping open the trunk. It was as if he had read Sam's mind.

Sam helped Keira into the back seat before he walked over to the driver's side. By the time he was in the car, Callen had already seated himself and was glancing back at Keira. She had closed her eyes again and looked asleep.

Part way to headquarters, Sam finally spoke.

"We need to tell Granger" he said, quickly looking at Keira who still sat with her eyes closed.

"Don't tell him, please" they heard Keira mumble from the back seat. Callen turned in his seat to see that her eyes were opening slowly and that she was trying to shift in the seat.

"Relax Keira" Callen said putting a hand on her knee, "But we need to tell him." She shook her head as vigorously as she could, whimpering.

"Don't, please Sam, Callen. Please don't" she whimpered, eyes finally open.

"Fine" Sam said through gritted teeth. Callen turned to him almost angry. How could he agree?

"But this happens again, and we tell him okay?" Sam threatened. Callen wasn't sure he agreed with this, but he couldn't go against Sam now. Keira nodded but didn't utter a word as she re-positioned herself in the back seat and closed her eyes again.

Just having parked in the parking lot of NCIS Los Angeles headquarters…

"Keira, can you walk?" Sam asked, not bothering to look at her in the back seat.

"Yeah" she mumbled, still half asleep.

Sam stepped out of the car and Callen did the same, pulling back his chair so she could get out. Keira scooted to the opening made for her and climbed out carefully, steadying herself on the car. Sam took his work bag and Callen took his as he pulled the seat back and snapped it into place. They watched Keira take a few deep breaths before making their way towards the doors that would bring them into headquarters to face an angry Director Granger. She composed herself before the doors were opened and when they walked in they saw that it was already very much busy. People were bustling about meaning that something was going on.

Reaching their working area they are stopped by Director Granger which comes as no surprise to any of them. Granger lets his eyes roam over Keira as if to make sure she isn't hurt. Sam then looks at his watch and back at Director Granger with a smile that no one else but him can understand.

"43 minutes."

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><p><strong>Any ideas on anything you want to see happen please say so! It isn't all set in stone so I am very open to anything you want me to put in there :D Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the next chapter! Heads up, school is going to start again soon and I'm going into my senior year so I will write as much as I can now before the year starts next week and crushes my free time! :)<strong>


	4. Natalia Redmond

**Hey peoples, so this is the next chapter. It took me a long time, I know, and I am so very sorry but yes. In this chapter and the next few we will have a new language in here, Ukrainian, and this is because of the case that they are on right now. It is part of the case. I will be using google translate so for those who may speak it, if it is wrong I wouldn't know and am sorry if it offends you ;) Anyways, excuse any spelling and grammar mistakes and I hope you guys like it :)**

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><p>Director Granger could not laugh while Sam walked past him and to his desk. He knew what Sam meant and it pissed him off to realize that Sam was right and that Keira was right there, unharmed and that they had brought her back before the 45 minutes Sam had promised him had passed. Callen put his hand on the small of Keira's back and pushed her past Director Granger towards the couch in the working area. He then sat himself down at his desk and gave her a stern look that was meant to keep her sitting on the couch. Both Sam and Callen watched Director Granger another few minutes before he walked away from them and towards Hetty's desk.<p>

Sam, Callen and Deeks (whom they had not noticed sitting at his desk before) almost had a heart attack when Eric blew into a trumpet at the top of the stairs. Obviously the man did _not_ know how to play a trumpet.

"We have a case!" Eric announced triumphantly at the top of the stairs before he disappeared into OSP.

Sam, Callen and Deeks started making their way up to OSP when they heard Director Granger say, "Keira, you too, let's go."

The three looked at each other and shrugged. When they all stood in OSP, joined by Director Granger and Keira, Callen looked around to realize that Kensi wasn't there.

"Where's Kensi?" Callen asked, looking to Director Granger for an answer.

"Miss Blye will not join us for the rest of the week" he responded, only getting a nod from Deeks. Callen and Sam looked to each other surprised that that was all Deeks did. They expected Deeks to ask more questions or look confused, but it seemed that Deeks knew what was up and was not about to elaborate to make it more clear to the two of them.

"For this reason, Keira will be partnered with Agent Deeks for the rest of the week" Granger continued. Callen and Sam couldn't help but frown. Deeks? Deeks was just…_Deeks._

"Can't she just ride with us?" Callen asked, hoping that Director Granger would understand where his question was coming from.

"Deeks needs back up and Keira is available to us" he said, ending the conversation entirely, "Now Mr. Beale, tell us about our new case."

"Meet Brian Saltzman. Since about 15 minutes ago, he's dead. He was found by his daughter Natalia Redmond at the Callager Mountain State Wilderness. The story is that they went hiking together and he said he thought he saw something, and he asked Natalia to stay put. After about 20 minutes of waiting Natalia got worried…" Eric said coming to a stop, "And went to look for her father" Deeks nodded, finishing Eric's sentence.

"Exactly" Eric continued, "But when she went to look for him she started to find some of his things that were in his backpack, sort of like a trail. Either way, she followed it and there he was. Brian Saltzman's body was on a branch and was bruised and bloody. We have no actual leads so you guys are going hiking."

"Okay…so, why is this our case?" Callen asked. There was nothing said about any type of naval involvement whatsoever.

"This is our case, Agent Callen, because Brian Saltzman was one of our own" Granger responded gravely.

"How old is Natalia and why doesn't she share his last name?" Keira asked, mind still well-focused on the case at hand.

"Natalia is 14 and she doesn't share the Saltzman name because she chose to keep her mother's maiden name. We are not completely aware of the situation and the relationship between Natalia's mother and Brian Saltzman or how much she knows, but we are about to find out" Eric said, seemingly happy with the case.

"Keira, Deeks, you go to the house where Natalia is at with her mother, Sam and I will go hiking" Callen announced before walking out with Sam right behind him. Keira gave Deeks a kind smile before he too walked out of OSP, prompting her to follow. Keira wondered what it would be like with Deeks, being his partner and all even if it was only for a week.

** Keira and Deeks….**

We walked towards the car that Deeks and Kensi always used while Sam and Callen went towards Sam's car. When Keira and Deeks reached the car and got 'settled into it' Sam and Callen were just driving away from headquarters.

"So…we're partners for the week" Deeks said smiling at Keira. Keira smiled and nodded, not saying a word before looking out the passenger side window. Deeks started to drive away from headquarters, but then stopped obviously having thought of something.

"You don't have a gun" he said looking at Keira that wouldn't look at him.

"I don't need one" Keira said matter-of-factly, sort of creeping Deeks out but there was no way he was going to let her see that. They drove for about 10 minutes without a word before Deeks felt the need to have a conversation going. Deeks was a social butterfly so the silence really wasn't working for him and he wasn't used to Keira's distant behavior.

"So Keira, what types of training have you done?" Deeks asked, wanting to no longer be curious about everything and not knowing what else to talk about.

"That's not for you to know" she responded, still not looking at Deeks.

Deeks let out an, "Oh" signifying the end of that conversation. She wasn't making it easy and he didn't really know her well enough to tease her. He missed Kensi already, just a few hours and he missed her. He knew she couldn't be with them right now , but that didn't mean that he missed her any less.

** Sam and Callen…**

Sam and Callen had a longer way to go and top it off they had to go hiking to get to the crime scene. Sam knew that he would make it, but Callen? Callen was the lazy type that ran only when he knew Sam wouldn't or when they simply had to chase someone down cause there was no dead end.

"So Callen, you gonna beat me to the crime scene?" Sam asked already chuckling because he knew the answer would not be a yes.

"Yeah sure Sam, I'm up for a challenge" Callen said courageously. Callen then thought about the fact that Sam was a Navy Seal and that he had had a heavy breakfast because Keira had made it for him. Now that he thought about it, he wondered why she did it and said that all she could keep down was some type of fruit shake.

"Sam, I want your opinion on something. Maybe you see it differently than I do, and don't laugh at the fact that I'm asking you about a teenage girl" Callen started, to knowing if he was going to regret talking to Sam about it.

"Okay….G what'd you do? Did you already upset her?" Sam asked, mocking Callen already.

"Ha ha Sam…very funny" Callen said sarcastically, "But seriously, I don't know how she did it."

"Did what?" Sam questioned, starting to get curious.

"I had her set to sleep on the bed, but when I woke up I was on the bed and she was already up and she had put the pillows back on the bed and folded the sheets" Callen said sounding exasperated.

"And that's bad because…" Sam said, not understanding Callen's point.

"Because I don't know how I got there and then when I woke and showered and went into the kitchen, she had already showered and made me a big breakfast while she herself was only having some type of smoothie or some weird thing!" Callen continued.

"G, she's a girl, girls like healthy stuff and keeping their weight and whatever" Sam responded, understanding Callen's thoughts but not understanding why it bothered Callen _that_ much. The girl had done him a favor with the bed and the breakfast, and Sam didn't expect her to do it everyday. It was strange though that Callen couldn't remember how he ended up on the bed instead of her because there was no way she could have carried him. Sam was just about to say something to Callen about how he should just ask Keira when Callen spoke first.

"And what do we have here" Callen said in an annoyed tone, looking at the two lazy cops that had stopped them at the opening of the Callager Mountain State Wilderness. Before Callen knew what he was doing, Sam smiled, stepped on his gas pedal and drove right past the two cops almost hitting them.

"What's the point of having a nice car when you can't do things like that?" Sam chuckled.

"Granger's gonna kill you for it too when he finds out" Callen then said, warning Sam, but Sam already knew that.

** Deeks and Keira…**

Deeks and Keira were reaching the house when it started to drizzle.

"Aww man! Now all my hair is gonna get wet and look weird" Deeks exclaimed, shocking Keira out of her daze. What kind of comment was that for a guy?

"Don't you have an umbrella?" Keira asked, sounding annoyed at the stupid comment.

"No. Cops and agents don't drive around with umbrellas, it's not cool" Deeks said dryly. Keira rolled her eyes with a smile. At that moment it started to poor and Deeks sighed as he came to a stop in front of the house. Keira liked having Deeks around because he was so much like a kid. The things that went through his mind were something else.

The fact that Deeks got Keira to smile made him very happy. He could not help but smile at her smiling.

"Ready?" Deeks asked, making sure that Keira was okay with this. Keira nodded as both tucked their guns into their pants at their backs and Deeks took out his badge.

"Do you have a badge?" He asked, realizing she hadn't taken out hers and remembering that she seemed to be a lot younger than he was. "How old are you anyways?"

"17, and yes I have a badge, and before you ask yes I am an agent" Keira responded, causing Deeks to let out a small 'oh' and nod slowly.

Deeks and Keira looked at each other one more time to assure each other that they were both good and ready before they stepped out of the car and jogged in the rain to the front door of the house. They were happy to see that the front door was by the front porch and that they were nicely covered from the rain. Deeks took a deep breath and let it out before he knocked on the door. There was what sounded like someone bustling about but no one opened the door. Deeks knocked a few more times and then stopped to see if anything else could be heard. There was a moment of dead silence before Natalia opened the door.

"Can I help you?" Natalia Redmond asked, not opening the door enough for Keira and Deeks to be able to look inside properly. The girl with dark brown hair straight hair till her elbows and a petite body looked at the two with a strange look in her eyes, but neither could decipher what it was meant to tell them.

"Agent Deeks, NCIS and…" Deeks stopped, not knowing what Keira was.

Keira finished his sentence for him with a, "Agent Slavi from EUCS". Deeks wanted to ask her what it stood for because he had never heard it before, but then remembered that they were at the house to question Ms. Redmond, not their own.

"Natalia Redmond, we're looking for your mother, is she around?" Deeks asked as kindly as he could. For reasons unknown to Deeks and Keira, Natalia suddenly looked like she was about to break down in tears.

"May we come in Natalia?" Keira then asked trying to be the gentle female person. Keira figured that maybe Natalia might feel more comfortable talking to her since she was also a girl and not much older, but of course Natalia didn't know that as fact, she just saw it.

"Bozhe , shcho zh ya budu robyty! Vony ne mozhutʹ buty tut , vony ne mozhutʹ buty tut! (Ukrainian for: God, what am I going to do! They can't be here, they cannot be here!)" Natalia muttered looking at everything around her but the two agents standing at her door.

"What language was that?!" Deeks whispered to Keira, looking at the fact that some type of light bulb thought had come to Keira.

"Sounds like….Ukrainian?" Keira whispered back in awe that this young girl knew how to speak it without even having any Ukrainian background, "I can't speak it or understand it but I've heard if before and _that_ sounded a lot like it".

"Natalia, let us in" Deeks said to Natalia, bringing her out of her continued muttering. He was firm with his words and Natalia could tell that she didn't have a choice anymore.

"I…um" Natalia started but was interrupted by Deeks.

"Natalia Redmond, let us in now or we will make our own way in with or without your cooperation" Deeks said again, starting to have enough of her stalling. Natalia only shifted her weight and looked at Keira nervously. Keira couldn't sympathize with her not knowing what was going on in her head or in their house.

"Okay then…" Deeks said before he yanked open the door and pushed past her. Her face fell and she looked at Keira with tears in her eyes. Keira, on the other hand, could not do anything but shrug at the young girl and push past her as well. Keira almost bumped into Deeks because he had suddenly stopped walking.

"Holy shit…" Deeks mumbled, soliciting a sob from Natalia. Both Deeks and Keira stood, eyes wide, looking at the scene before them.

Keira looked around and only two words came out of her mouth, "Vkrov' , vezde (Russian for: Blood, everywhere)".


	5. Ukranian?

**Hey guys, so I am very very sorry this chapter is so late and that it is shorter than the last one but I hope it's good anyways :) I hope you guys like it and please leave me a comment/review if you can! As always, I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes! And please, always feel free to give ideas on scenes or chapters that would be cool ;)**

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><p>Sam and Callen…<p>

"Goddamn it's hot" Callen whined, wiping the sweat off his brow, "Couldn't we find an easier way up?"

"Stop complaining G, you're just out of shape" Sam said matter-of-factly with a smirk. Callen was definitely not as in shape as he was. I mean, there was a no way that Sam would ever say that it affected Callen's job much, but like right now, Sam had no problem hiking while Callen had been complaining all the way, and it had only been 10 minutes!

Once they reached the crime scene, Callen looked like he was dehydrated and ready to really start hyperventilating. The crime scene was gruesome because by now the blood had drained from the body. The forensics unit was trying to get the body out of the tree in such a way that it stayed intact, but because of how badly it was bruised and how long it had been hanging on the tree, they had to be extremely careful.

"Sam, tell me what this looks like to you" Callen said to Sam breathlessly. It wasn't as much a question as it was a way to figure out if Sam was thinking the same thing Callen was.

"This looks like a message being sent" Sam responded, confirming Callen's suspicions.

"But why Brian Saltzman? What did he do to make himself first on the hit list?" Sam said, raising very good questions. There had to be a reason as to why whoever chose Brian Saltzman as their first target. Yes, Brian Saltzman was one of theirs, but that didn't automatically put him on someone's hit list. "Do we know if he was working on any cases as an undercover?" Sam asked, another question they couldn't answer.

"Speaking of the devil who could have figure it out, look at that, he's calling" Callen said with a small laugh before picking up and pressing speaker, "Callen."

"Okay, Callen, Sam, I just got word from Deeks and Keira. It's looking bad over there at the Redmond house. They called over forensics and taped off the house. They can't touch anything yet but it's something you guys have got to see. Oh, and about Brian Saltzman, he was working on a case for a long time, a Ukrainian one. He was getting close to figuring out who was calling out hits on big guys in the drug circle in the US but then something went wrong and he had to go dark. Thanks to _Granger, _the specifics of the case and who he was affiliated with during his undercover time is classified and cannot be touched by us or Hetty" Beale spoke quickly.

"Damn, doesn't that make this a lot shittier than it was before" Sam mutters. "Alright thanks Eric." Callen hangs up and looks at Sam, both knowing that they should probably be making their way over to the Redmond house to figure out what is going on over there. Just as they are about to leave, a thud and cursing makes them look towards the quickly find Brian Saltzman in a heap on the ground.

"We'll get back to you on what we find on him" one of the forensics people still in the tree yells down.

"Uhu" Callen says slowly, nodding, and then walking away with Sam.

"So G, you wanna race me down?" Sam asks, already knowing that Callen will tell him 'no'.

"You might as well just roll me down" Callen jokes, looking at Sam and then realizing that he just asked for it. "Oh no you don't!" Callen yelled as he started his sprint down the hill with Sam laughing after him.

Deeks and Keira….

Deeks and Keira both stood in awe at the sight before them. They stood in the living room of the house that led to the kitchen and stared at everything around them. There was blood all over the couches, the chairs, the floors, and walls. It was as if someone had taken a water gun and had put blood in it instead, and then had used it in the house multiple times.

Natalia watched them and stood sobbing into her hands. "Nemaye, nemaye (Ukrainian for: No, no)." Keira and Deeks turned to her with questioning looks. What the heck had happened in this house? And with all this blood, was just one person's? There was too much for it to be one person's right?

"Natalia, what happened?" Keira asked carefully, not wanting to upset the girl more. She wasn't sure if she should think of her as a victim or as a suspect. "Natalia, speak, now, before I have to think of you as a suspect" Keira continued. She was starting to get impatient. They couldn't touch anything yet and it was frustrating because that meant that they couldn't actually pick things up or move anything to get a better idea of what might have happened. "I'm going to walk the outside of the house" Keira announced before going through the still open door and walking out onto the lawn. It was still raining some and it was starting to thunder. Because of the darkness the clouds created, it almost made it look like it was soon going to become night time.

Keira looked back at Deeks watching her before she continued and started to make her way around the left side of the house. The left side seemed undisturbed and there was a wooden shed in the corner of the yard. It looked a bit big for a shed and her curiosity got the best of her, causing her to make her way to it and try to peer into the windows. The windows were covered by what looked like the backs of canvases. Keira slipped on a lat glove and opened the door. When opening the door, the strong smell of paint made its way to her. The shed was being used as an art room.

The darkness of the shed alerted Keira and she pulled out her gun. The moment she turned on the light, a bunch of creepy paintings greeted her. Paintings of dark shadows, dead women, and killers. The sight shocked Keira and brought her back to the fact that that young girl in the house could be a killer. Keira ran back towards the house leaving the shed door open and the light on to find Deeks holding his gun pointed at the girl.

"Deeks, what's happening? What's going on?" Keira asked walking towards them slowly. It took a while for her to notice that the girl had a gun in her hand and was pointing it at Deeks. Her hands were shaking while she held it and she looked desperate yet not able to do what she wanted to. "Where did that come from?"

"From under the bathroom sink apparently. She said she would clean herself up a bit and left the door slightly ajar, but then a few seconds afterwards she came out with the gun in her hand pointed at me. I managed to get my gun out but now she wants to try to _kill_ me anyways" Deeks explained, in an angry voice.

"Uhu…" Keira nodded trying to understand the change from the sobbing girl to the girl holding a gun pointing at Deeks. Before she could tell what was going on the girl suddenly pointed the gun at her own head.

"Woah woah WOAH! What are you doing?!" Deeks exclaimed.

"Deeks, just calm down, put your gun down. Why would you want to kill yourself Natalia?" Keira asked, turning to the young, beautiful girl before her.

"Close the door and put down your guns" Natalia said through gritted teeth. "CLOSE THE FREAKIN DOOR AND PUT DOWN YOUR GUNS!" Keira closed the door slowly and put her gun in the planting pot by the door, not wanting to touch anything on the ground or kick it and disturb evidence. She immediately took Deeks' gun out of his hands and put it in the pot next to hers. Deeks turned to her with an angry expression for taking his gun but then focused back on the girl before them.

"Otche nash , shcho yesy na nebesakh , porozhnysti im'ya Tvoye, vony pryyde Tsarstvo vony budutʹ na zemli, yak na nebi. Day nam sʹohodni khlib nash nasushchnyy i prosty nam provyny nashi, yak i my proshchayemo tykh, khto z·hrishytʹ proty nas, i ne vvedy nas u spokusu , ale vyzvoly nas vid lukavoho. (Ukranian for: Our father who art in heaven, hollow be thy name, they kingdom come they will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.)" Natalia recited before pushing the gun harder to the side of her head.

"Natalia, please, whatever happened here, we can help you. We _will_ help you!" Keira pleaded, keeping her hands up to show that she meant no harm. Deeks didn't take his eyes off of Natalia, in fear that she would pull the trigger if he did.

"YA pomru provedennya svoyikh vlasnykh tyahar! (Ukranian for: I will die carrying my own burdens!)" Natalia yelled, tears streaming down her face as if rivers worth of water were coming out of her eyes. "Prosty mene za te , shcho ya zrobyv i te, shcho ya zbyrayusya zrobyty . Tse ne povynno bulo zakinchytʹsya takym chynom." (Ukranian for: Forgive me for what I have done and what I am about to do. It was not meant to end this way.)" She said before she pulled the trigger. All Keira could do was yell when the young girl pulled the trigger. Deeks flinched before turning around away from the sight and bowing his head.

Keira gasped as if she was punched in the gut before she stumbled into Deeks. Deeks, not suspecting her to stumble and almost fall barely caught. Deeks held Keira to him and kept her in his embrace. He could tell that she was shocked and something else, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I…um…Deeks let go…I can't breathe let go" Keira said in short breaths, struggling against Deeks. Deeks let go when he realized how her breaths were coming out in gasps. Before he could ask her anything, Keira ran out the door and stopped on the front lawn. She bent over as if to catch her breath after a long run.

Sam and Callen…

Sam and Callen left the wilderness park in a rush breaking all speed limits possible. When they reached the house they were shocked to see Keira on the lawn, hunched over and gasping for air.

"Keira! KEIRA!" Callen yelled as he got out of the car as quickly as he could, ducked under the tape and ran to her. "Keira, what's happening? What do I get you?" Called asked in a rush, crouching so he could see her face. "Pogovori so mnoy Keira, chto proiskhodit? (Russian for: Talk to me Keira, what's happening?)" Callen tried after she didn't respond. Keira's hand went to hold her stomach before she ran off past Callen and Sam who had come up behind Callen. Deeks walked out of the house to see Keira running away.

"Keira?" Sam yelled after her. Keira ran down the street and was suddenly gone. "What happened her Deeks?"

"Natalia Redmond is dead. She just shot herself in front of us" Deeks explained softly.


	6. Mr Carter Dale

**Hey guys, so I worked on this chapter as much as I possibly could and wanted it to end a certain way so it's a bit long. I really hope you like this chapter because I am pretty happy with it :) Anyways, as always, excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes and please feel free to give ideas or suggestions!**

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><p>"WHAT?" Callen and Sam said simultaneously.<p>

"Natalia Redmond shot herself" Deeks repeated. Callen and Sam sucked in their breath. Deeks didn't like saying it but it had to be said. The crime scene was still intact and he had been inside trying to find clues as to where the blood everywhere came from when he heard Callen's voice. He had figured she needed space and hadn't followed her out.

"Did Keira see everything too?" Callen asked.

"No, she came back when Nathalia had a gun pointed at me, she had been in the shed" Deeks explained.

Callen and Sam looked at each other before making their way towards the shed in the yard. The door was ajar and the light was on inside. The windows were covered with canvases. They drew their guns, Sam walking in front of Callen and Deeks behind them. Sam lowered the gun and came to a dead stop when he reached the center of the shed. Callen stopped right after causing Deeks to bump into him. Deeks apologized and looked around with Sam and Callen. The paintings surrounding them were dark. Killers, dead women and shadows surrounded them on the canvases. There were so many and the paintings looked so realistic, like they were painted memories.

"What the hell is this?" Callen muttered. They had all lowered their guns and stood rooted in their spots, not sure what they were supposed to be thinking about all of it.

"You said Keira wasn't in the house when Nathalia Redmond got the gun, you think she was in here?" Sam asked, already pretty sure of what the answer would be.

"Keira said she was gonna look around the house. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what she found. That's probably why she was back so quick" Deeks agreed, thinking back.

"Where do you think she went?" Callen said, now thinking about the fact that if she didn't show up back here, they had no clue where she was. "Should have bought her a cell phone" Callen cursed.

"We need to get someone to look at these paintings for us, there might a clue in here somewhere that we can't see just looking at them like this" Sam said. Deeks and Callen nodded in agreement before the three men walked out of the shed.

"We should probably tell Granger that Keira ran off" Callen said slowly, knowing that it probably not go over well.

"Sure G! While you're at it tell him that we have no idea where she went and that she is alone. We'll get our asses whooped and an angry Hetty to deal with but _who cares_" Sam said sarcastically, scoffing at the idea. They all knew that Granger would have to be told if they didn't find her, but they weren't going to tell him before they at least tried to find her.

"Let's split up, Callen go to where she ran towards, Sam take the car, I'll go the other way" Deeks said as if he had read Sam's mind. They all made sure they had their phones and that they had a good amount of battery left on them before they split up. Sam could cover more ground in the car and Deeks and Callen could pick up on small stuff and ask around when walking.

_2 hours later…_

Two hours had passed and they were starting to panic. They couldn't find Keira anywhere and Granger was starting to call them. They couldn't ignore his calls for long before he figured out that there was something wrong.

After a last 15 minutes of looking they all rounded back towards the crime scene of a house. Once they got there they were shocked to see Keira sitting on the sidewalk in front of the house. She was hugging her knees and her eyes looked glazed. Deeks and Callen both broke into a run when they saw her sitting there and Sam was there in seconds. Sam, reaching first, ran out of the car and crouched down to her level.

"Keira, you're okay, we're right here" he murmured. When reaching out to touch her, Keira recoiled and moved away from Sam suddenly frightened. Before she could get up and get away from him her hand went to her stomach and she became pale.

"Keira?" Callen asked gently. Callen and Deeks had reached her just as she had recoiled. Deeks looked worried, they all did. She looked like she was going to be sick so they all backed up a little to give her some room. "Keira" Callen repeated.

"I'm fine, I'm okay" she muttered before trying to get up. She stood for a few seconds before she started to go back down. Deeks reached out quickly to grab her before she got down on the sidewalk again. Deeks slowly pulled her up with him but she swayed dangerously.

"Did they take her yet?" She asked quietly.

"Take who Keira?" Sam questioned looking at Callen.

"Natalia Redmond" Callen said the moment Sam asked who. "Yeah they took her." Keira nodded slowly, still not completely balanced on her legs.

"Guys we have to get her out of here. Let's go back to headquarters and then we can somehow try to figure out what Natalia Redmond was saying to us" Deeks said before he walked Keira to Sam's car and Sam opened the door to the backseat. Deeks would meet them back at headquarters knowing that Callen would want to have an eye on Keira knowing he was responsible for her according to Granger.

Back at headquarters….

Sam and Callen walked in with Keira walking slowly behind them. She looked pale still and didn't want to talk to either of them. Deeks walked in soon after, trailing behind Keira to make sure he was there if anything happened or she didn't feel well. When Granger turned around from standing at Hetty's and saw them he knew something was wrong with Keira and that something had changed drastically about this case.

"What happened?" Granger asked to no one in particular. Hetty stood and walked around her desk as well, looking at the faces on her agents. Her brows pulled together in confusion at their expressions and Keira's paleness. Callen, Sam, Deeks, and Keira all stopped walking to stand right in front of the level going up where Hetty's desk was.

"Natalia Redmond shot herself" Callen said, his voice monotone.

"You found her" Granger concluded incorrectly.

"No, she shot herself in front of us" Deeks corrected grimly. Keira's head lowered and Sam put a hand on her lower back to steady her.

"Us?" Hetty asked.

"Me and Keira" Deeks answered. Hetty and Granger shared a quick look before both looking at Keira's state. A look of understanding crossed their faces.

"Callen, Hanna, Deeks, go on up to Eric. Keira we need to talk to you" Granger sighed. Callen and Sam walked away towards the stairs while Deeks put his hand on Keira's shoulder before walking away. Once the three agents were up the stairs and out of sight, Hetty and Granger stepped down to Keira's level.

"Keira" Granger said firmly. She looked up at him with teary eyes.

"She just….She just…" she stuttered before Granger pulled her into his embrace.

"You be strong and you don't let this get to you. This is part of the case and we have to figure it out, there has to be a good explanation for her to choose that. You couldn't have stopped her, this is not your fault" Granger whispered to Keira. Hetty watched, remembering the type of people she and Granger used to be. She saw how Granger was so loving towards Keira and she wondered where that caring person had gone over the years.

Granger pulled back from Keira and wiped her tears away with his thumb. He gave her a small smile and a kiss on the forehead before pushing her towards the stairs. She walked up slowly but she looked less pale and that was comforting to Hetty.

"It must have reminded her of…" Hetty started.

"I know" Granger interrupted, "I know."

Upstairs with Eric, Deeks had explained what had happened exactly in detail and with the help of street cameras that a house across the street had put up, the team could see what was happening while Deeks explained what was being said. They couldn't see into the house but they could see Deeks and Keira stop in the door, Keira walk out and check the yard before running back to Deeks and having the door close. Eric, however, had managed to make Natalia Redmond a clear image and was having a lip reader and translator friend of his decipher what exactly was being said. When Keira walked in and saw the image of Natalia Redmond she stopped short. Deeks, Eric, Sam, and Callen turned towards her. Keira refocused on the task at hand and walked to stand next to Callen.

"U nas yest' spinu , vsegda (Russian for: We've got your back, always)" Callen whispered in Keira's ear before nodding back at Eric.

"So while we wait for Melanie to translate and decipher what is being said, is there anything we can use now?" Eric asked looking at the team for something to do. Granger and Hetty had walked in in the meantime.

"Natalia, she spoke Ukrainian, where would she get that from?" Keira said quietly.

"And Saltzman worked on a Ukrainian case, why would he teach his daughter Ukrainian if it was part of one of his undercover's. He wouldn't pull her into his undercover op would he?" Sam said connecting the dots.

"All the blood in the house, it couldn't have been just one person's. There was way too much of it, on the walls, the furniture, the counters, the floor, there is no way" Deeks then said.

"Better question yet, whose blood is it? Her mother's?" Callen asked. He raised a good point. No one had figured out where Natalia Redmond's mother was yet for this. No bodies were found in the house, there were just the paintings in the shed that made them curious on what Natalia knew and what her mom knew or knows.

"Our goal right now while we wait to hear back is then to find her, Ms. Clara Redmond" Eric said, pulling up a picture of a woman who was obviously Natalia's mother, "Public records say she is unemployed and that she is financially supported by a Mr. Carter Dale. I've sent the address of Carter Dale's house, which is more a _mansion_, to your phones. He owns Dale Incorporated, big banker and investor. "

"Keira, Deeks, I want you with Callen and Sam. Who knows why he finances Clara Redmond and what type of security and dirty business the man has" Granger said.

"Agents, I want you to be careful with this, we don't know much and this is obviously a big case now" Hetty then said, "now go on!"

The four agents walked out and decided to all take Deeks and Kensi's work SUV because they could all fit together. In the car there was only silence. No one spoke. Deeks and Sam sat in front while Callen and Keira sat in the back.

"Ty v poryadke? (Russian: you okay?)" Callen asked Keira who was still holding her stomach. She was less pale than before but she still looked like she didn't feel well. Keira mumbled something in return but didn't look at him.

"I parked us two blocks away guys. It's the big blue house with the iron fencing" Deeks announced when they reached the street Carter Dale lived in.

"What's our plan?" Sam asked turning in the passenger seat to look at Keira and Callen.

"Can't I just stand outside and ask for permission to walk through?" Keira asked.

"YA ne komfortno s etim . Etogo ne proiskhodit . Eto mozhet byt' opasno. (Russian for: I'm not comfortable with that. That is not happening. It could be dangerous.)" Callen said to Keira looking pointedly at her. He would not have this. Granger put him in charge of her and he was going to make sure that he would keep her safe whenever he could.

"Otstupit' , ya sdelayu eto s ili bez vashego razresheniya (Russian for: Back off, I will do this with or without your permission)" Keira answered back. Deeks and Sam watched the exchange not understanding a word but feeling the tension between the two.

"Net vy ne budete (Russian for: No you won't)!" Callen said back to Keira, raising his voice.

"Sedit' za mnoy (Russian for: Watch me)" Keira snapped back. Keira then got out of the car.

"Keira!" Callen yelled at her before also getting out of the car and going after her.

"What's happening?" Sam asked sounding lost behind Callen. Sam had also gotten out of the car and was watching Callen stomp after Keira. Keira stomped right down the street until Callen yanked her by the arm and made her look at him.

"YA nesu otvetstvennost' za vas , pomnite (Russian for: I am responsible for you, remember)?" Callen hissed at Keira. Keira was so frustrated that she was about to snap back at him before they both heard a planting pot crash down from somewhere and looked to see what happened. When looking towards where the sound came from, they realized they were standing by Mr. Carter Dale's gate. Looking up to the balcony where the planting pot fell from stood Mr. Carter Dale in a very much intimate encounter with, wouldn't you believe it, Ms. Clara Redmond. Callen and Keira's mouths fell open watching Clara Redmond giggle as Carter Dale ran his hands and mouth all over her almost naked body.

All of a sudden Deeks was standing behind Callen and Keira with Sam at his side. "I think I now know why Mr. Carter Dale finances Ms. Clara Redmond…she pays back in a very _generous_ way."


	7. Hello Mr Carter Dale

**Hey guys! So this is my chapter 7 :) It's longer than most of my chapters and I really hope you like it! As always, excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes and please comment!**

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><p>"Wow…he is doing well!" Deeks exclaimed, startling them all out of their shock. Sam, Callen and Keira turned to look at Deeks with an exasperated expression. "What?"<p>

When Ms. Clara Redmond threw her head back in a crazy laugh of lust, her eyes opened and looked directly at all of them. Her eyes went wide and the entire team moved as quickly as possible. They all ran to the car and then quickly backed away and drove off.

"So, what happened to asking Ms. Clara Redmond some questions?" Keira asked, looking incredulously at the rest of the guys.

"I think she's a bit busy right now" Sam said with a chuckle. Callen threw him an annoyed look and then looked at Keira smiling. She looked like she belonged, like she was happy to be with them. It made him feel good to know she was comfortable around them. When Keira caught Callen looking at her, she looked down feeling guilty. She should not have gotten angry at him when he was just trying to take care of her. Keira, though, did feel like Callen was just taking care of her because Granger told him to. Even if Callen didn't think about it that way, she wouldn't know. Sam watched the exchange with curiosity but then looked ahead again.

When they reached headquarters again they walked in to see Dimitri talking to Hetty and Kensi talking to Granger. Granger nodded every once in a while but she was the only one doing the talking it seemed.

"Kensi hey! Everything alright?" Callen asked immediately when seeing her. He walked right up to her and Granger, ignoring Granger in the process.

"Yeah I'm all good" Kensi said in a voice that seemed fake. She looked at Deeks and there was a slight, almost invisible nod before she said, "it's all good" with a smile.

Sam, Callen, and Keira all caught the small glance and nod but let it go knowing that if something was seriously wrong they'd hear about it.

"So, Keira, you take my place?" Kensi said with a smile. The team knew she was kidding but Keira didn't seem to pick it the humor.

"I um…I'm sorry" Keira said, confusing the team.

"Wait Keira she…" Sam started to explain but Keira had already speed-walked away. Dimitri saw Keira walking away upset and called after her.

"Keira! Ey stop!" Dimitri yelled going after her.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean.." Kensi started but Granger stopped her.

"It's okay, everyone else knows what you meant" he said calmly. His face showed sadness at Dimitri going after Keira. They watched as Dimitri continued to yell after her as she went out the door.

"Kens where you been?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"I've been busy, personal stuff" Kensi said vaguely. Sam and Callen took that as their cue to go on to Eric and tell them what they'd found and discuss another approach to Ms. Clara Redmond. Deeks, before going to his desk, stopped by Kensi, gave her a hug, whispered something in her ear and then gave her a kiss on her temple before going to his desk. Kensi's small smile let the others know that whatever he said to her was supportive and helped her.

"Everything okay with her?" Callen asked quietly when Deeks sat down at his desk.

"Yeah. She's my Kensalina, she'll be fine and she knows I'm here, we're here" Deeks said softly. His voice had taken on a whole new type of seriousness. Sam and Callen accepted that answer with a nod before going up to Eric to talk about Clara Redmond.

They had just explained the whole situation with Clara Redmond and Carter Dale to Eric before they herd something break outside the door in the hallway somewhere. Sam, standing closest to the door walked out into the hallway. Just when he got about a few inches out the door he stopped, curious. There stood Keira with her back to him talking to Dimitri. Dimitri looked concerned and she sounded annoyed but they were speaking Russian so he couldn't understand.

"Vy dolzhny prinyat' yego prostym" Dimitri hissed before being told to shush by Keira.

"Dima, Vy znayete, eto sluchilos' s moyey mamoy tozhe on uydet , eto faza" Keira spoke back.

"Keira, she's dead!" Dimitri almost yelled. By that, anyone who was in earshot turned to see what was going on. Sam's brows pulled together, wondering what they were arguing about but he was then seen by Dimitri, stopping the heated argument. "My zakonchili s etim pryamo seychas, no ne navsegda. YA ne pozvolyu etomu idti . Poluchit' vashey komande ... odin iz nikh vyglyadit, kak on volnuyetsya seychas. YA preduprezhdayu vas , Keira , eto ne zakonchitsya khorosho, i ya ne pozvolyu tebe bol'no iz-za etogo. Sestra , ne ignoriruyte moye preduprezhdeniye" Dimitri then said to Keira as silently as he possibly could.

Keira looked back at Sam before saying to Dimitri, "I haven't forgiven you yet Dima."

"I know sestra, Granger told me I had it coming" Dimitri admitted before slowly inching forward and giving Keira a careful kiss on the forehead. Keira stood absolutely still and waited for him to walk away before turning to Sam and walking towards him. Sam's expression told her that he was concerned so Keira just smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking in before him.

"So where are you guys?" Keira asked in a confidence voice that didn't sound normal. It sounded like she was forcing it and holding on to anything she could to make sure she didn't let her emotions get the best of her.

Eric stuttered for a while before saying "we know now why Clara Redmond gets financed by Carter Dale." Eric couldn't help but cough at the awkwardness of the conversation. "And we know she's alive, what we don't know is why Natalia killed herself or who's blood that was in the house. And then of course there is the fact that the paintings are hella creepy and I don't want to get anywhere near them!" As Eric rattled on about the paintings and how he thought they were the creepiest things Callen observed Keira. She looked like she had just come out of a very heavy conversation, it made her look tired.

"Eric, what are we trying to figure out right now. What are we going for? What do you need us to get to get you somewhere with Clara Redmond and Carter Dale" Sam said, interrupting Eric's rant.

"We still need to figure out more about Carter Dale and his relationship with Clara Redmond. His credit cards and bank statements don't tell me anything other than the fact that he is a big spender, that he finances Clara Redmond and that he recently purchased a golden fountain" Eric stated with such normality that it shocked the rest of the team.

"A golden fountain? Damn…Mr. Dale's got expensive taste" Deeks said causing Callen to laugh.

"You mean he has the money you can't spend on the same things" Callen said in between laughs. Deeks' face gave the answer away; Callen had pinned the tail on the donkey with that one. Seeing Deeks' expression Sam chuckled.

"Nice one G" He said before walking out with Callen. They all knew that they would have to go back and that they would have to make sure they did not cross paths with Clara Redmond.

Keira had followed and was going down the stairs with Deeks behind her when she saw Dima standing at the headquarters door staring right at her.

"Well that's not creepy at all" Deeks whispered into her ear, startling her and causing her to trip over her own feet and grip onto the stair railing to keep herself from falling.

"Woah" Deeks laughed gently grabbing her by the waist when he saw her falling. "My bad, sorry" he said lightly laughing, "thought people pay attention when walking down stairs in the secret headquarters of a government agency." The last comment earned Deeks a glare from Keira. He raised his hands as if in surrender before she continued down the stairs completely focused on where she was walking. Once down the stairs she made her way to the door with Deeks. They were going to have to go in the same car again and retry what they were first going for.

"Sledite za vashey spinoy Keira, i otdokhnut' (Russian for: Watch your back Keira, and take it easy)" Dimitri said to Keira, gripping her arm to keep her in place. Deeks had stopped to watch the interaction. Keira showed no emotion but Dimitri's eyes burned into hers.

"YA bol'shaya devochka Dima (Russian for: I'm a big girl Dima)" Keira answered before Dimitri let go of her arm. Keira stood and stared at him for a while as he searched her eyes for any show of understanding or agreement. After a few seconds Keira walked away leaving Deeks to wonder what that was and leaving Dimitri to wonder if she'd take his advice. Before Deeks could walk after her to the car Dimitri stopped him.

"You watch out for her, please" Dimitri said, his face pleading. Deeks saw the need Dimitri had for reassurance and agreed.

"Yeah sure man, but I think she can take care of herself" Deeks said giving Dimitri a pat on the back before going out the door to the car where Sam, Callen, and Keira waited.

The car ride was quiet and Keira seemed far away from all things. Deeks and Callen sat in front while Sam sat in the back with Keira. He had decided to sit in the back in hopes of talking to Keira about what she and Dimitri were so heatedly arguing about. Deeks and Callen were engaged in some not-so-playful banter which then seemed like the perfect time for Sam to try and talk to her.

"Keira, what was Dimitri so angry about before?" He asked, not sure if she would realize he was talking to her or not.

"He was warning me" she answered so softly he almost missed it. "He wants me to watch my back."

"Is there another reason that you're with us that we weren't told about?" Sam asked, then starting to realize that the randomness of Keira's visit and Dimitri's showing up might not be so random after all. Keira could have stayed at headquarters but instead Granger made her Callen's responsibility and part of the team for the meantime. Hetty seemed on board with the idea but not entirely. Was there something about her or her last case that had her in danger? Were they supposed to protect her from someone or something?

"History repeats itself you know? One might think that because they are different, they won't make the same mistakes but damn the world, history repeats itself" Keira mumbled. The statement wasn't exactly meant for Sam, but Sam took from it that this was what was on her mind and was bothering her. Something was happening again but what he did not know.

"So how we doing this now?" Deeks asked, disrupting the small link that Sam had just been able to establish with Keira.

"I'm going in" Keira said sternly.

Before Callen could even protest Deeks spoke. "I'm going with you then. Partners are partners, even if you are my temporary partner you are stuck with me." Callen and Sam looked confused at the sudden partner-partner nature of Deeks' words. They then wondered what had kept Deeks when they were waiting by the car. Keira hadn't said anything but both Keira and Deeks had had things on their minds when coming out of headquarters. They had the same strange expression on their faces.

"How is that going to work?" Keira asked sharply, as if trying to get rid of the idea of Deeks going with her.

"We're there to make him an offer he can't refuse. A chance to invest in the newest chain Haughton Hotels that are incredibly extravagant, five star, celebrity hotels bringing him in contact with top people of his status" Deeks said, already having thought this through.

"And who are we?" Keira asked, seeing she didn't have another choice but to go along with the plan.

"Part of the public relations group here in LA" Deeks said with a grand smile.

"Good idea Deeks" Callen said, approving of the idea and pointedly looking at Keira.

"Fine" Keira agreed. Sam smiled at the fact that Callen got exactly what he wanted.

"Me and G will watch your backs however we can. We'll get Eric to tap into the mansion cameras so we can see what's up" Sam explained, getting out of the car so he could take Deeks' place in the drivers seat.

Sam and Callen pretended to drop Keira and Deeks off at the house and drive away to only drive down a few blocks so they could keep an eye on them.

"Alright Eric, here we go" Sam spoke into the phone. They would keep Eric on the phone while he scanned the cameras from headquarters.

Deeks and Keira walked up to the house and waited for the gates to open before getting into the proper composure and attitude of PR's. When finally having walked up the driveway they stood at the door and waited. Deeks gently put his hand on Keira's back and Keira had to use all her strength not to shrink away from the familiar touch.

When the door opened Keira and Deeks stood confused to see that Mr. Carter Dale answered his own door. Keira and Deeks stiffened when they heard Ms. Clara Redmond's giggle, a gruff voice, and then the breaking of something glass from inside.

"This is a bad time, what can I do for you?" Mr. Carter Dale purred, solely focused on Keira's body. Deeks' hand on her back seemed to clench for a split second before he put on a smile.

"We would like to discuss with you an investment deal into Haughton Hotels, the five star, celebrity hotel that is found in the most exotic spots in the world" Deeks said with confidence.

"Does your deal include this little one but sharing is caring, or so I've understood" Mr. Dale said hungrily, feeling a strand of Keira's hair ever so softly between his thumb and index finger. Keira did her best not to flinch or show disgust while Deeks tried to hide his anger but wasn't doing too well at it. "Come in will you?"

Deeks and Keira walked in through the door that now stood wide open to them. Deeks led Keira to walk in before him with his hand on her back.

"May I use your restroom?" Deeks asked suddenly. He hoped that Keira got the hint. Carter Dale obviously fancied Keira and would most likely talk to her better alone, he would most likely give up more. Keira looked like she could murder Deeks for a split second before smiling at Carter Dale and standing closer to him with a face that said 'I want you'. Carter Dale licked his lips and then mumbled a 'down the corridor second right'.

Deeks walked away and watched Keira and Mr. Dale walk on before looking around at the house and paying attention to the details. He just opened a door and walked into a room that was full of drapes over big things on the ground. Deeks was about to lift a drape when he turned in shock to see Ms. Clara Redmond standing behind him completely naked.

"You're not supposed to be here."


End file.
